Matilde Meireles celebrates the surprisingly long journey of one of the world’s most beloved vegetables with “Life of a Potato”. For a field recording it is a rather stellar mixture of low-end and high-end sounds. Rather tactile every single element of the journey is magnified. No melody, no rhythm, this is a narrative that comes through with various sounds that reverberate throughout the entirety of the collection. Both songs have a sprawling, soothing aspect about them.
On the first track “Roughly 53 Steps” there is a bit of Matmos’ wry sense of humor brought in. The mixture of the domestic alongside the wild helps to give it that extra push to a degree. Starting off quiet the piece eventually comes to incorporate an entire ecosystem. Hints of the bird song in the background further give it a sense of place, one that feels ever so soothing to fully embrace. All of it works wonders in creating this peacefulness, one that focuses on reflection, on the gentle rhythms that make up a person’s day. Much more composed “or 38 Metres” features a stronger hand at play. Rather than let the sounds be, her approach is direct. While this is no dance track, no endearing melody, it does have a less abstract approach than the opener. Here the pulsing bass almost alludes to a great beyond.
“Life of a Potato” features an uncanny approach to storytelling proving Matilde Meireles to be a rather skilled sculptor of sound.
via Beach Sloth